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(iSeeCars) – When it comes to the most popular car colors, the answer is black or white according to a recent analysis by iSeeCars.com.

The study examined over 9.4 million cars on the road to determine the share for each color. White narrowly edged black as the nation’s most popular color by less than one percentage point. 

Here are America’s most popular car colors:

Most Popular Car Colors – iSeeCars Study
RankColor% Share 
1White23.9%
2Black23.2%
3Gray15.5%
4Silver14.5%
5Red10.3%
6Blue9.0%
7Brown1.4%
8Green0.7%
9Beige0.4%
10Orange0.4%
11Gold0.3%
12Yellow0.2%
13Purple0.1%

Grayscale colored cars (white, black, gray, and silver) account for 77.1 percent of all vehicles on the road. White is the most popular car color for car buyers, accounting for 23.9 percent of all vehicles. “Apple helped popularize the color white with the launch of the iPhone, and consumers may associate it with being modern,”  said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. “White is also one of the easiest car colors to maintain and surprisingly hides dirt better than most colors.” Black cars rank second at 23.2 percent, followed by gray in third and silver in fourth. “Consumers may prefer grayscale colored cars from a practicality standpoint since they are colors they are less likely to tire of,” added Ly. 

The most popular non-grayscale cars are red in fifth and blue in sixth. “Red cars are commonly associated with sports cars, so sporty drivers may opt for this hue,” said Ly. “Subdued blue hues are likely a popular choice among consumers who want to stand out in the sea of cars in neutral colors without being too flashy.” 

The remaining colors include brown, green, beige, orange, gold, yellow, and purple. Combined, these colors account for just 3.5 percent of cars on the road. 

Car color also plays a role in a new vehicle’s eventual resale value. “Less popular car colors tend to depreciate less because they are more scarce in the used car marketplace, while grayscale colors depreciate close to average,” said Ly. “

Car Color Popularity by State

iSeeCars also examined the most popular car colors by each state, and only two colors are represented.  Echoing national trends, white narrowly edged black as the preferred vehicle color in 27 states, while black was the top color in 23.  

Due to the overwhelming popularity of white, black, gray, and silver cars, iSeeCars also determined the most popular color outside of these hues. Red was the most popular color in 38 states, while blue was the most popular in 12. 

Most Popular Car Colors by State – iSeeCars Study
Top ColorTop Non-Grayscale Color
StateColor% ShareColor% Share
AlaskaWhite19.9%Blue12.2%
AlabamaWhite25.4%Red10.7%
ArkansasWhite27.8%Red13.4%
ArizonaWhite27.2%Red10.1%
CaliforniaWhite27.7%Blue7.5%
ColoradoWhite23.3%Red9.7%
ConnecticutBlack24.1%Blue10.7%
DelawareBlack25.1%Blue10.6%
FloridaWhite25.0%Red10.3%
GeorgiaBlack24.3%Red9.6%
HawaiiWhite28.2%Blue8.1%
IowaBlack23.8%Red13.7%
IdahoWhite26.6%Red11.7%
IllinoisBlack26.1%Red10.7%
IndianaBlack24.5%Red13.2%
KansasWhite24.2%Red12.0%
KentuckyBlack23.8%Red12.0%
LouisianaWhite26.5%Red8.8%
MassachusettsBlack24.8%Blue9.7%
MarylandBlack24.9%Blue10.4%
MaineBlack23.8%Red11.7%
MichiganBlack26.6%Red12.3%
MinnesotaBlack25.9%Red11.8%
MissouriBlack24.0%Red12.2%
MississippiWhite28.0%Red9.6%
MontanaWhite24.7%Red13.1%
North CarolinaWhite23.8%Red10.1%
North DakotaBlack24.3%Red13.9%
NebraskaWhite24.4%Red13.9%
New HampshireBlack23.4%Blue11.4%
New JerseyBlack25.7%Blue9.0%
New MexicoWhite26.2%Red11.1%
NevadaWhite26.2%Red8.9%
New YorkBlack25.8%Red9.8%
OhioBlack24.5%Red12.4%
OklahomaWhite25.0%Red12.9%
OregonWhite24.5%Red9.5%
PennsylvaniaBlack22.5%Red11.4%
Rhode IslandBlack23.2%Blue9.7%
South CarolinaWhite24.3%Red10.2%
South DakotaWhite23.2%Red14.1%
TennesseeWhite23.4%Red10.5%
TexasWhite25.3%Red10.3%
UtahWhite26.7%Red9.6%
VirginiaBlack23.0%Blue10.4%
VermontBlack22.1%Red13.0%
WashingtonWhite24.0%Blue9.6%
WisconsinBlack26.1%Red13.2%
West VirginiaWhite23.3%Red14.5%
WyomingWhite25.4%Red13.5%

What are the Most Colorful States?

iSeeCars further analyzed state data to rank states based on their shares of non-grayscale vehicles. The most colorful state is Vermont, while the least colorful state is Hawaii. 


States with the Most Non-Grayscale Colored Cars – iSeeCars Study
RankStateShare of colors that are non-BWGS
1Vermont30.0%
2West Virginia29.7%
3Wyoming28.9%
4Montana28.6%
5South Dakota28.4%
6Alaska28.2%
7Wisconsin27.7%
8Indiana27.6%
9North Dakota27.4%
10Maine27.0%
11New Hampshire26.5%
12Michigan26.4%
13Ohio26.3%
14Pennsylvania26.3%
15Nebraska26.2%
16Iowa25.5%
17Idaho25.4%
18Kentucky24.8%
19Minnesota24.7%
20New Mexico24.6%
21Kansas24.5%
22Missouri24.5%
23Virginia24.5%
24Delaware24.4%
25Oklahoma23.6%
26Maryland23.5%
27Illinois23.5%
28Arkansas23.4%
29New York23.2%
30Connecticut23.2%
31Colorado22.9%
32Florida22.9%
33Tennessee22.8%
34Washington22.6%
35North Carolina22.6%
36Rhode Island22.2%
37Oregon22.2%
38South Carolina22.2%
39Massachusetts21.8%
40Arizona21.8%
41Alabama21.6%
42Texas21.4%
43Nevada21.4%
44Georgia21.0%
45Utah20.8%
46Mississippi20.1%
47New Jersey19.8%
48Louisiana19.6%
49California17.3%
50Hawaii17.1%

Most Popular Car Colors by Metro Area

In the 50 most populated metro areas in the United States, white and black are the only colors represented as the area’s most popular car color. White cars earn the distinction in 28 metro areas, while black is the most popular in 22. Similar to state data, red is the most popular non-gray color in most metro areas with 41. Blue cars are the most popular in nine. 

Most Popular Car Colors by Metro Area
DMATop Color% ShareTop Non-Grayscale Color% Share
Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NMWhite25.6%Red10.9%
Atlanta, GABlack24.8%Red9.2%
Austin, TXWhite25.0%Red10.0%
Baltimore, MDBlack25.3%Blue10.8%
Birmingham, ALWhite25.4%Red10.0%
Boston, MA-Manchester, NHBlack24.2%Blue10.1%
Charlotte, NCBlack23.5%Red9.4%
Chicago, ILBlack26.5%Red9.4%
Cincinnati, OHBlack24.4%Red11.3%
Cleveland-Akron (Canton), OHBlack24.2%Red11.4%
Columbus, OHBlack24.2%Red11.9%
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TXWhite25.2%Red9.6%
Denver, COWhite23.1%Red9.6%
Detroit, MIBlack27.0%Red11.1%
Fresno-Visalia, CAWhite27.2%Red8.7%
Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo, MIBlack25.1%Red11.9%
Greensboro-Winston Salem, NCWhite24.8%Red10.4%
Greenville-Spartanburg, SCWhite23.9%Red10.6%
Harrisburg-Lancaster-York, PABlack21.4%Red11.6%
Hartford & New Haven, CTBlack23.8%Blue10.5%
Houston, TXWhite24.5%Red9.5%
Indianapolis, INBlack24.7%Red13.0%
Jacksonville, FLWhite23.8%Red10.1%
Kansas City, MOBlack24.4%Red11.2%
Las Vegas, NVWhite26.0%Red8.8%
Los Angeles, CAWhite28.1%Blue7.1%
Memphis, TNWhite23.7%Red10.4%
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FLWhite25.6%Red8.8%
Milwaukee, WIBlack26.7%Red11.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MNBlack25.8%Red11.3%
Nashville, TNBlack23.6%Red10.1%
New York, NYBlack25.9%Blue9.1%
Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News,VABlack21.7%Red11.0%
Oklahoma City, OKWhite25.1%Red12.4%
Orlando-Daytona Beach, FLWhite23.9%Red11.3%
Philadelphia, PABlack24.0%Blue10.2%
Phoenix, AZWhite26.8%Red9.8%
Pittsburgh, PAWhite21.8%Red12.1%
Portland, ORWhite23.6%Red9.1%
Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville), NCWhite23.5%Red10.0%
Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CAWhite27.1%Red8.2%
Salt Lake City, UTWhite26.3%Red9.5%
San Antonio, TXWhite23.8%Red11.2%
San Diego, CAWhite27.4%Red7.5%
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CAWhite25.0%Blue8.2%
Seattle-Tacoma, WAWhite23.2%Blue9.7%
St. Louis, MOBlack23.7%Red12.2%
Tampa-St Petersburg (Sarasota), FLWhite24.2%Red11.3%
Washington, DC (Hagerstown, MD)Black24.0%Blue10.2%
West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FLWhite25.6%Red9.5%

More from iSeeCars.com:

Methodology:

iSeeCars analyzed over 9.4 million one- to five-year-old used cars (model years 2014 – 2018) sold in 2019. The color of each car, as well as the location of sale, was tallied to determine the most popular car color nationally, in each state, and in each metro area.

About iSeeCars.com:

iSeeCars.com is a car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars free VIN check reports. iSeeCars.com has saved users over $292 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.

This article, The Most Popular Car Colors originally appeared on iSeeCars.com.